Poor Performance & Capability Proceedings

Helping you explain your case – for us it’s personal

If your employer is unreasonably criticising your work performance and you are facing formal capability or disciplinary proceedings our employment law solicitors can provide you with reassuring and reliable expert assistance to help you respond sensibly but robustly to your employer’s concerns.

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Bespoke advice and support to help you

No one likes to be criticised, especially when there is little or no justification for it. There are many reasons why employers mishandle poor performance and capability concerns. Our specialist employment law solicitors have the experience and tactical knowledge to help you prepare for and attend any form of performance or capability meeting or hearing.

Let us help and reduce the worry, stress and anger we know can result from being unfairly criticised at work.

How we can help you

Our approach is flexible. We can do as much or as little work as you like. Invariably, in these type of cases, it’s best if you keep us confidentiality in the back ground with us advising you on your options and how best to react to the criticisms.

You can ask us to help with any of the following:

Advice and guidance

We can discuss with you the details of your case including your employer’s concerns and provide you with our frank advice about the merits of your situation, your options and suggest how best to proceed.

Preparation for your capability meeting or hearing

To ensure you are fully prepared we can help you prepare your case and arguments. If required we can help you with a written response or submission complete with a bundle of supporting documents.

Whatever you ask us to do, we can help so your preparation is completed well and on time.

Questions and answers

The criticisms about my performance are unfair and unjustified. What should I do?

Even if you disagree with your employer’s concerns, you must cooperate and participate fully in the formal procedure being followed by your employer.

You must keep a level head and take time to answer the criticisms in the most appropriate way. For example, if you have to attend a capability meeting you should take with you a letter or written statement setting out your arguments and supporting evidence. Making sure you correctly document your arguments can be of enormous help if you later have to bring a claim in the employment tribunal.

If you are issued with any form of warning or caution you must appeal.

Do I have the right to be accompanied at a capability meeting?

Yes, normally if it is a meeting which may result in a formal warning or your dismissal. You have the right to request to be accompanied by a fellow work colleague or a suitably qualified trade union representative.

As long as there is no conflict of interest your employer should not object to your request.

If you take a companion he or she will not be able to answer questions on your behalf but they can speak during the meeting, respond to opinions expressed and confer with you at any time during the meeting.

I have to follow a Performance Improvement Plan but my employer is not taking into account my ill-health and how this is affecting my work. Is this right?

No. Your employer should discuss with you how your ill-health is affecting your job performance. If there is any uncertainty about this issue you should get your GP or doctor to write to your employer. It would also be normal practice for your employer to obtain a medical report from your GP or occupational health so that any decisions made about your progress on the PIP are made in full knowledge of your medical condition.

If you are a disabled employee, your employer will have to also consider what reasonable adjustments it should make to your working arrangements, including any PIP objectives.

For more details about reasonable adjustments please see our Briefing Note [].

I have been dismissed because my employer concluded my job performance was unsatisfactory. I think this is unfair. What options do I have?

You should exercise your right of appeal against the decision to dismiss you.

Assuming your appeal is unsuccessful you may have the right to bring an employment tribunal claim for unfair dismissal and possibly discrimination. It’s essential that you don’t over look the time limit for starting your claim in the employment tribunal.

Our employment law solicitors can discuss your concerns, the merits of your case and if you have a valid claim for unfair dismissal.

How much will you charge me for your advice?

Our fees are based on hourly rates and we will agree with you a cost budget for each stage of our work for you. Your legal costs will ultimately depend on how much work we do for you. We do our best to keep your legal costs inside any cost estimate or budget agreed with you.

Your offices are not local to me. Can you still act for me?

Yes, without any doubt we can. We routinely act for employee clients who are not local to our offices in Wherstead, Ipswich Suffolk. Our employee clients live and work from all over the country.

Our office is set up so you can easily contact and instruct us online, by email and by phone, and there is always the post or fax!

You can book telephone meetings with us and email has made it so easy to correspond with us.

By instructing Quantrills you will benefit from our truly personal service even if we don’t meet face-to-face. For example, when you telephone us your solicitor will speak with you, or if this is not possible, he or she will return your call as quickly as possible (normally on the same day).

After a lengthy discussion with the solicitor he told me he felt I had a good case to take my employer to court for constructive unfair dismissal, disability discrimination and a stress related personal injury claim.
It was not an easy decision to make, since there were risks involved, but I felt that Quantrills would not encourage me to take legal action unless I had a good chance of winning my case. Once I had instructed Quantrills to act for me, I finally felt that I had a way to redress the injustice of my treatment by my employer and thus help myself to recover.

Employee client talking about the client care we provided during her case

I was helped and guided to make my own decisions about my case, and I always felt that I was given all of the facts to help me make those decisions. I was given very detailed information about what was happening and was reassured at all times that everything was being done to minimise the financial risk to me and also to keep Quantrills’s charges as low as possible.

I was impressed by their in-depth knowledge and expertise in Employment Law, and am sure I could not have got this sort of advice from a general solicitor. I never felt that my case as an employee was less important to them than the work they did for employers. Everyone at Quantrills was courteous, friendly and helpful to me whenever I visited or phoned the office.

I am very grateful for the substantial settlement that Quantrills negotiated on my behalf.

Making sure you get the right advice - for us it's personal

Winning you the best possible outcome and how we look after you are fundamentally important to us at Quantrills.

We provide a truly personal service, blending our legal knowledge and expertise with the best client care. This lets us skilfully look after the legal merits of your case whilst lessening your concerns and any worries.

I'm immensely proud of my firm's expertise, experience and capabilities, so if you are facing an employment law problem I'm entirely confident you will be really impressed with your employment law solicitor from Quantrills – as our client testimonials show.